01/10/2009 0003UTC 17 40.828S 177 23.159E Day 842 Up at 0605, 24C, Partly Cloudy, Wind Calm.

[Above, this Associated Press photo shows the damage from yesterday's tsunami in Falehau village on Niuatoputapu Island, Tonga. Photos of our visit to the island in happier times are available here.]

[To read our book, Family Voyaging - Ak to nZ, and receive voyage planning assistance (VIP Service), go to the Family Voyaging website at www.familyvoyaging.com.]

The two Samoas suffered the most damage from the 30 September killer tsunami that swept the South Pacific. As many as a hundred are dead and numerous coastal towns were devastated. The largest cities in the tsunami's path -- Pago Pago, American Samoa, and Apia, Samoa -- are where we spent two months last year. So, looking at photos of the destruction there is a chilling and agonizing experience. But our chief worry is focused on the friends we made in the village of Falehau on Niuatoputapu Island, Tonga. It was in this tiny settlement, where we visited for over two weeks, that we befriended a wonderful Tongan family. They came aboard Wind Dancer for their son's 13th birthday party, they took Grant and Grace to school with them, I helped one of the men repair an outboard motor, we feasted with this family on numerous occasions, and they'd spent a whole day teaching Richelle how to cook Tongan style. They shared their island, family and home with us; there was never a moment that we did not feel wholly welcome. Sadly, from the above photo, it appears that our friends' home is gone. We do not yet know their fate.

At this point, we do know that there were deaths on the island, but the names have not been released. The Government of Tonga has declared a State of Emergency for Niuatoputapu, which is the closest Tongan island to Samoa. The total population of Niuatoputapu is approximately one-thousand people. Tonga Defence Services has confirmed that six people are dead there and four remain missing. Widespread devastation is also reported, including to the hospital, which the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management reports has been destroyed. Damage has also been reported in the two other villages on Niuatoputapu.

The Australian vessel - the Voea Neiafu - departed Nuku'alofa, Tonga, last night for Niuatoputapu. The ship has aboard food, stores (tents, tarpaulins, etc.), medical supplies, a five-person civilian medical team, and Tonga Red Cross personnel.

We are also apprehensive about the welfare of fellow yachties in Tonga, Samoa and elsewhere in the South Pacific. At Niuatoputapu, some were anchored in the lagoon where we were moored last year. Our understanding is that most of the vessels got out through the pass into the open ocean before the tsunami arrived. At sea in deep water, tsunamis aren't much of a threat. There they are often not even perceptible. It's when these errant, earthquake-generated waves reach the shallows that they raise up to enormous heights and crash headlong into the shoreline and beyond. We heard that one boat was still anchored in the lagoon when the mountain of water arrived. The towering wave swept the yacht stem to stern and ripped out its windlass, but the vessel's anchor held and it survived the onslaught.

So far, we have not received any information about two of our dearest cruising friends, an American couple, who we know are still in Tonga. We believe the harbor where they are moored was not substantially damaged, but we wait with bated breath...